Skip to main content

Full text of "The story of Llandaff cathedral"

See other formats 


A 

A  = 

c= 

A^ 

:a 

0  = 

^ - 

0  m 

=^^  J3 

0  m 

=^=  ID 

2  = 

=  O 

8  ^ 

J> 

4  = 

=^   CD 

^^^ 

2  ^ 

8  = 

5  ^ 

==  O 

^^^  ^ 

4 

IVilliamson 


Story  of  Llandaff  cathedral 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


w 


\,y"'      .i      ■ft 


SJ'\    '    x-i"^ 


^^^ 


I  wiS^'^  'FH%bJ 


«^; 


^1  ^».<i 


electricity   Uepartment 


I 


1^ 


f7 

fa. 


/4s^  /or 
Booklets 
describing 
the  ideal 
Electric 
Home, 
entitled : 

"THE 
HOUSE 
YOU 
WANT" 

and 

"THREE 
PLUG 
POINTS." 


Have  you  called  at  YOUR  Show- 
rooms and  Information  Bureau  at 

119  ST.  MARY  STREET 

(corner  Quay  Street) 

CARDIFF 

where  you  may  see  the  advantages 

of  using  Electricity  in  Your  Home 

Demonstrated. 

Advice  gladly  given  to  Consumers 
and  Prospective  Consumers  gratis 
on  Electric  Installations  generally, 
and  quotations  given  for  Instal" 
lations  (including  all  Electric 
Fittings  and  Appliances 
required)  on  Hire  Purchaise 
Terms  by  Quarterly  Instalments 
or  on  Slot  Meter  re-payment 
terms  if  so  desired. 

ELECTRIC    COOKERS    ALSO 
ON  HIRE. 

Wiring  for  Cooker  Circuit  installed 

up  to  40  feet  Free  of  Charge  with 

Three-Pint  Electric  Kettle  (subject 

to  certain  conditions). 


«^>  »>  ^i  ■■  <fc  ■<  1^  n^ 


»«>^«ll  ■^»  »l  ^i  II  <fc<» 


\¥ 


V5 


■^ 


0 


^ 


^\^ 


High  Street 
LLANDAFF 


fi 


or 


MORNING  COFFEES 
LIGHT  LUNCHEONS 
AFTERNOON     TEAS 


Home-made  Cakes  and  Sweets  of 
all  descriptions. 

Orders    taken    for    Bridge    Teas. 

Bride  —  Birthday  —  Christening 
Cakes. 

All  goods  made  with  fresh  Butter 
and  Eggs. 

Home-made  Jams,    Potted  Meats 
and  Supper  Dishes. 

Fruit  Tarts,  Meat  Pies  to  order. 


f»%^t%  ^  II  ^  ii^ii^  11^  i'^ 


4>^fcH^fcl|W 


^a 


1" 


MCARTHUR 


COSTUMIER  &  LADIES' 
HAIRDRESSER 

PERMANENT    WAVING 
From  20/- 

Telephone  4924 


50  &  52  ALBANY  ROAD 

ROATH,    CARDIFF 

I  'ii^fc  tr~fc  ff~fc  ii~fc  ii~fc  ii^fc  ii~fc  ii~fc  II  ^  11-^  ■■"»  n~^  II  ^.  II  ^.  II  ^_n^Lii  ^_ 


'^-^i 


«.« 


"MILLAR" 

T^^  F//r  House 

WellfieM  Road,  CardiflF 

The  quality  and  reliability  of  our 
Furs  are  just  as  "High"  but  the 
prices  have  never  been  so  "  Low "  at 
"  Cardiff's  exclusive  little  Fur  Shop." 

Telephone  6137. 


f*— -"'■*■■' 


■>  "^  II  "^  II  "^  ■■  "^  II  ^  ■■  ^  II  ^  iiT 


Visitors 

to  Cardiff 

will  find 

THE  DOROTHY 

CAFE  HIGH  ST. 

AND 

THE     DUTCH | 

CAFE  QUEEN  ST.     I 

I 

Restaurants    of    refinement    \ 

I 
} 

I 

GOOD  COOKING  &  SERVICE     ! 
} 

I 

MODERATE  PRICES  j 


and  restfulness 


*.«- 


RESIDENTIAL  ^  DAY        ! 
SCHOOL   FOR   GIRLS        | 

With  Kindergarten  and  Preparatory  Departments    ( 

€\iht  i^all  College  ' 

Pcnciscly,  Llandaff,  Cardiif. 

Preparation  by  Modern  Individual  Methods 

London  Matriculation. 

Cambridge  School  Certificate. 

Assoc.  Board  R.A.M.  and  R.C.M. 


Fully  Qualified  Graduate  Staff 

Sports :    Tennis,    Lacrosse,     Swimming,     Etc. 
{  'Phone:  CARDIFF  6483.  | 

FOUNDED  1870. 

ilonfeton  ^ousfe  ^cfjool 

18  &  19  The  Parade,  Cardiff 

MONKTON  HOUSE  SCHOOL  offers  a  thoroughly  sound  pre- 
paratory  and  secondary  education  to  boys,  both  day  boys  and  boarders, 
between  the  ages  of  five  and  eighteen. 

Pupils  are  prepared  for  London  Matriculation,  the  Cambridge 
Locals,  Common  Entrance,  and  other  similar  examinations.  Eighty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  candidates  have  been  successful  during  the  past 
five  years. 

A  large,  highly  qualified,  staff  assists  the  Principal  in  maintaining 
the  excellent  reputation  which  the  School  has  gained.  The  fees  are 
moderate  and  inclusive.  Full  information  is  contained  in  the 
Prospectus.  Telephone:   Cardiff  3530. 

Principal     -     C.  A.  WILLIAMS,  M.A.  (OXON.) 

4 


I 


Lla?2daff  Cathedral  School        \ 

Founded  in  1880  by  Dean  Vaughan  as  a  Preparatory        | 
School  for  the  Public  Schools  at  moderate  fees.  \ 

Choral  Scholarships  are  offered  to  boys  selected  by  the        | 
Dean  and  Chapter  as  suitable  for  the  Cathedral  Choir.         \ 

Apply  to  the  Head  Master.  j 

Jir-»  11 -»  in  II -»  rn  ii— i  --  -i   — " ~    "~   — — ~"-       ■—  '■»    "^  «■ »   ■■»  ii^  iil 

ELM  TREE  HOUSE 

SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS, 

WITH 
\  KINDERGARTEN. 

) 

j      PREPARATION      FOR     EXAMINATIONS. 

1      PROSPECTUS      ON     APPLICATION      TO 

I  THE    PRINCIPALS. 

)      — 


I         PALACE  ROAD, 

i  LLANDAFF. 

I 


|^_H^.  11^   tt^  ■!  ^II^H^  tB-^  l»"^  II -^11^ 


j  LAMORNA    SCHOOL  ] 

i  PREPARATORY  SCHOOL  FOR   GIRLS  AND  BOYS  ( 

i  conducted  in  a  modem  building  having  a  South-Westerly  aspect  i 

i  Usual  English  subjects  taught,  also  Maths,  Languages,  Science,  » 

I  Handcrafts,  G>Tnnastics,  Games  and  Swimming.  I 

\  Terms  Moderate.  Apply  Principal.  j 

j  CHURCH    ROAD,   WHITCHURCH,   GLAM.  | 


■.«■  ^11^  11^  ir« 


WESTBOURNE  HOUSE   SCHOOL 

Preparatory  Day  &  Boarding  School  for  Boys 

Preparation  for  Common  Entrance  and  Scholarship  Exam- 
inations. Physical    Development,    Swimming,    Games. 
Every  care  given  to  delicate  and  backward  boys.     A  large 
and  efficient  staff  ensures  much  individual  attention. 


^.^., 


r 

i 
I 


1 


i 


BUILDERS  & 
DECORATORS 

SANITARY  &  ELECTRICAL 
ENGINEERS 


ESTIMATES 
FREE 


ESTD. 
896 


Telephone 
673  WHITCHURCH 


STATION    RD, 

LLANDAFF,   N. 


X 


} 
I 
I 
I 
I 
! 

i 


J.  R.  DOWNING 

OPHTHALMIC  OPTICIAN 

Manufacturer  of  Complicated  Ophthalmic  Lenses  of  Every 
Description.     Prescriptions  made  up  immediately. 

Registered  Optician  for  National  Insurance. 

3  WINDSOR  PLACE,  CARDIFF.     Tel.  316 


} 


j  FOR  ALL  I 

I  HIGH-CLASS  CAKES  &  PASTRIES  * 

i        A.  H.  HOFFMAN 

I  Baker  and  Confectioner 

I  POST  OFFICE,  LLANDAFF  NORTH 


Branches  at  Whitchurch  and  Rhiwbina. 

Telephone  Whitchurch  121. 

SUPPORT    LOCAL  Established  Quarter 

ENTERPRISE  !  of  a  Century. 


I  COAL    COAL 

I  For  GOOD  Coal  go  to— 


i 

Charles  W.  Williams  &  Son  | 

ESTABLISHED   1879.  I 

I                       Coal  and  Coke  Merchants  | 

1                      and    Haulage    Contractors  ! 

i              ELY    STATION  I 

i                           —  I 

I              Special  Quotations  for  Large  Quantities.  j 

I                              Prices    on   Application.  i 

j     Orders  and  Enquiries  to—                         Telephone:    \\2  LLANDAFF.  i 

Only   Address— 8   ST.   PAGANS   ROAD,   ELY  | 

i        Depots-ELY  STATION  and  FAIRWATER  SIDINGS  ( 

i  i 


I 


D.  J.  EVANS  &  Sons 


t" 


XIln&erta??ers  S.  Complete 
jfuneral  jfurnisbers 


1 


"  WAKELEY,"  Merthyr  Road 

(Near  Cross  Inn)  ( 

GABALFA,    CARDIFF  | 

Our  Funeral  Charges  are:  j 

ELM  COFFIN  with  HEARSE  and  COACH     £8    0    0  | 

OAK  COFFIN  with  HEARSE  and  COACH    £11    0    0  | 

Please   NOTE  our  prices   and  address  | 

Finest  funeral  equipment  obtainable  in  Cardiff  &  District  - 

Telephone:   Whitchurch  534                     Established  1900  i 

._J1   ■_!!  ^_H-»    H-»  T -f "—    ■■-     .■»    .1^  ■■^■■^■■^■A 


fc^t  ^  ■r^fc«p  ^  i»  ^  •»■ 


Telephone  :  Llandaff  199 

E.   A.   BOSWELL 

BUILDER  and  DECORATOR 


House  Repairs  in  all  its  Branches 
I  ROOFS.   DRAINS.  PLUMBING 

I 

J  Keen  Estimates.  Personal  Supervision. 

\   a8   PALACE  AVENUE 

I  LLANDAFF 


i 
i 


Established  over  three  quarters  of  a  century 
Telephone :  58  Llandaff 

WILLIAM    CLARKE 

Sculptor  anb  puilber 


Church  Work  and  Fittings  in  Wood  and  Stone  ol  ever) 

description.   Church  Restorations  and  General  Building 

Work  carried  out  by  Skilled  Craftsmen. 

Monumental  Work  of  every  description  a  speciality. 
Designs  and  Estimates. 


fjt^f 


LLANDAFF 


1 


'■^"-^•^ 


!  ■  ! 

j  Shopping  at  i 

I  David  Morgan  Ltd.  | 

I  Cardiff  | 

i  I 

I        nnO-DAY— David  Morgan,  Ltd.  is 
I  X    recognised   as   being    one    of    the 

finest  stores  in  the  provinces.  Here 
shopping  is  delightful  pleasure — 
spacious  and  luxurious  showrooms — 
where  you  can  purchase  all  your 
requirements  with  the  confident 
knowledge  that  David  Morgan,  Ltd. 
absolutely  guarantee  that  their   prices 

are  as  low  as  any  store  or  shop  in  this 

I 

area.  ; 

i 

i 

i 

i 
» 


1  he  Jtory  or 

LLANDAFF  CATHEDRAL 


E.    W.    Williamson 

M.A.,  F.S.A. 

Canon 


Witk    Illustrations 


Sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  Fabric  Fund 


Designed,  Printed  and  Published  by 
THE   BRITISH   PUBLISHING   COMPANY    LIMITED 

AT 

THE    CRYPT    HOUSE     PRESS,    GLOUCESTER    AND    LONDON 
Copyright  21320450 


Contents 


I.   The   Story   of  the    Life   and 
Work  of  the  Cathedral... 

II.  The  Story  of  the  Architecture 

III.  Monuments, Woodwork, Sculp- 
ture, Pictures,  Windows, 
Organ,  Bells,  Plate,  Regi- 
mental   Colours,    Library, 

Museum 


Page 
II 

i8 


24 


Illustrations 


The  West  Front  ... 

The   Interior — Westward 

The  Chapter  House 

The   Lady  Chapel 

The  Presbytery     ... 

From  the  North-east,  1830 

The  Cathedral  from  the  South 
east  ... 

The  Reredos 

Key  Plan  of  Cathedral 


Facing  Page 
12 

13 

20 

20 
21 

24 

24 

25 
26 


Without  mentiorjng  the  numerous  sources  of  this  story  the  wnter  desires 
to  express  thanks  to  such  living  authors  as  the  Bishop  of  Bangor,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Bannister,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkin-James,  Mr.  J.  H.  James,  Mr.  E.  W.  Lovegrove, 
the  Rev.  Lawrence  Thomas,  Alderman  H.  M.  Thompson,  and  Mr.  E.  C.  M. 
WiUmott.  He  would  especially  thank  Mr.  J.  Llewellyn  Morgan  for  the  use  of 
his  large  collection  of  miscellaneous  material. 

10 


LLANDAFF^ 

CATHEDRAL 


-THE  STORY  OF  THE  LIFE 
AND  WORK  OF  THE 
CATHEDRAL 

CATHEDRAL  is,  in  idea  and  origin, 
a  great  church  in  which  a  bishop 
-has  his  cathedra,  his  seat  or  "see," 
and  in  which  he  and  the  clergy  most  closely  attached  to 
him  maintain  the  constant  opus  Dei,  work  of  God  or  round  of 
divine  service,  and  from  which  there  should  radiate  Christian 
influences  within  the  neighbourhood  or  diocese  in  his  care. 
We  cannot  understand  the  cathedral  unless  we  know  something 
of  its  ministers  and  of  how  they  have  carried  on  these  tasks.  In 
this  first  chapter  we  must  therefore  piece  together  the  story  of  the 
men  who  have  served  God  in  the  Church  of  LlandafF.  That 
story  is  neither  so  clear  nor  so  splendid  as  the  story  of  richer  cathe- 
drals, whether  those  of  the  "  Old  Foundation,"  like  Salisbury  or 
Lincoln,  which  have  always  been  served  by  canons,  or  those  of  the 
"  New  Foundation,"  like  Canterbury  or  Gloucester,  which  were 
taken  from  monks  and  given  to  canons  in  Henry  VIII's  time.  But 
it  is  a  story  even  more  venerable  than  theirs  ;  it  reaches  back  further 
than  that  of  any  English  cathedral,  and  it  shows  us,  in  many  forms 
and  in  many  ages,  an  attempt,  hampered  often  by  poverty,  sometimes 
gallant,  sometimes  all  too  half-hearted,  to  maintain  the  "  work  of 
God."  The  ministers  of  LlandafF  Cathedral  must  be  one  of  the 
oldest  fraternities  on  British  soil.  Their  foundation  is  "  older  than 
the  oldest."  Their  church  begins  fourteen  centuries  ago  with  an 
uncertain  foothold  amid  the  British  people,  recently  driven  by  heathen 
Saxons  into  Wales  :  it  ends  as  the  mother  of  a  great  dioce.-e  contain- 
ing well  over  a  third  of  the  population  of  the  Welsh  Principality. 

The  first  bishop  of  whom  we  know  anything  at  LlandafF  is  St. 
Teilo.  From  at  least  the  ninth  century  right  down  to  the  end  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  and  even  beyond,  the  LlandafF  clergy  revered  his 
memory,  and  were  proud  to  call  themselves  the  "  family  of  Teilo," 
and  to  give  his  name  to  their  cathedral  and  other  possessions.  Teilo 
was  a  Pembrokeshire  man,  and  a  leader  in  that  great  movement  of 
revival  and  missionary  work  which  took  place  among  the  British 

11 

872930 


11  if 


Page   12  St.   Teilo 

people  in  Wales  and  beyond  the  seas  during  the  sixth  century. 
He  obtained  some  centres  for  work  in  West  Wales,  at  one  of  which, 
Llandilo  Fawr,  he  died  ;  and  he  worked  for  a  time  among  people 
of  his  own  stock  in  Brittany,  where  such  place-names  as  Landeliau 
preserve  his  memory.  It  is  probable  that  he  worked  from  547  to 
555  in  Brittany.  His  work  at  Llandaff,  and  in  this  part  of  Wales, 
may  fall  just  before  and  after  that  time.  The  method  was  that  of 
a  monastic  camp  and  outposts  ;  the  bishop  made  his  chief  monastery 
where  he  could  obtain  a  good  site,  a  lann,  estate  or  compound,  and 
he  planted  his  men  out  at  any  spot — there  were  as  yet  no  diocesan 
boundaries — where  lesser  lanns  might  be  given  him.  Commonly 
the  lann  took  its  name  from  the  leader  to  whom  it  was  given.  Teilo's 
lann  took  its  name  from  its  river,  the  Taff ;  its  site  had  already  been 
used  for  pre-Christian  burials  of  uncertain  type,  discovered  some 
years  ago  under  the  western  part  of  the  present  church.  Its  influence 
is  reflected  in  ancient  charters  preserved  in  the  twelfth-century  "  Book 
of  Llandaff."  Of  these  charters  some  are  clearly  false,  but  parts  of 
them  seem  to  be  of  great  antiquity.  In  them  we  catch  glimpses  of 
Teilo's  men  and  their  successors  receiving  willing  gifts  from  their 
converts  or  forcing  barbarous  chieftains  to  repent  of  vile  crimes  and 
make  handsome  grants  in  reparation  to  the  mother  church. 

Teilo  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  St.  Oudocui.  Thereafter 
much  is  dark,  and  the  accepted  list  of  bishops  contains  evident 
mistakes.  One  clear  glimpse  we  receive,  about  the  beginning  of 
the  ninth  century,  in  deeds  inscribed  in  the  margins  of  the  so-called 
"  Gospels  of  St.  Chad,"  a  precious  volume  written  about  700  A.D. 
The  book  has  been  at  Lichfield  since  about  970,  but  about  the  year 
800  it  was  bought  for  a  "  best  horse  "  by  one  Gelhi,  son  of  Arihtiud, 
and  given  to  Llandaff".  Attestations  made  while  it  was  at  Llandaflf 
suggest  that  Teilo's  lann  was  now  no  longer  a  monastery,  but  had 
something  like  the  later  chapters  of  secular  canons  ;  we  find  "  Nobis, 
bishop  of  Teilo,"  "  Saturnguid,  priest  of  Teilo,"  and  "  Sulgen,  the 
scholasticus,"  who  was  the  scribe,  and  who  foreshadows  the  teaching 
work  of  the  later  chancellors.  About  King  Alfred's  time  we  pick 
up  a  fairly  clear  succession  of  bishops  within  the  Llandaff  diocese. 
One  of  them,  Cimeilliauc,  was  captured  by  Danes  in  915,  and 
ransomed  by  King  Edward  the  Elder.  And  now,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, they  begin  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  England,  and,  it 
appears,  to  seek  consecration  at  Canterbury.     Increasingly  in  the 

Book  of  Llandaff  "  the  cathedral  chapter  takes  shape  before  our 
eyes  :  charters  are  witnessed  by  clerics  calling  themselves  "  priest  of 
Teilo,"  "  the  reader  "  and  "  the  writer,"  "  theVeward  "^frequently 


rholo— Sydney  Pitcher   F.It.P.S.    Gloucester. 


Copyright. 

The   West 
Front. 


Norman  Influence  ^oge   13 

and  once  even  "  the  cook  "  ;  and  finally  in  the  eleventh  century  the 
title  "  canon  "  appears.  Both  bishops  and  clerks  might  be  married 
men,  and  some  of  their  sons  are  recorded  as  holding  office  in  the 
church.  The  estates  and  property  of  the  canons  were  not  yet 
separated  from  those  of  the  bishop. 

It  was  not  until   11 20  that  Norman  ideas  in  building  touched 
LlandafF,  and  the  tiny  old  church  was  superseded  ;    and  Norman 
ideas  in  cathedral  organisation  tarried  even  longer.     Herwald,  who 
was  bishop  when  the  Normans  came,  continued  for  nearly  fifty  years, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  a  hundred,  so  it  was  said,  in  1104.     He  was 
untouched  by  new  ideas  ;    his  son  was  archdeacon  of  Gwent,  the 
eastern  part  of  the  diocese.     Urban,  the  next  bishop,  declared  that, 
while  in  his  own  day  the  cathedral  had  but  two  canons,  it  had  had 
even  in  King  William's  time  as  many  as  twenty-four  ;   but  this  may 
be   doubted.     Urban   (1107-33)   did   indeed  show   much  activity. 
He  began  the  present  church,  which  was  in  building  from  11 20  to 
about  1280.     He  added  St.  Peter  to  its  older  name-saints,  and  St. 
Paul  was  added  in  later  centuries.     He  tried  to  increase  its  status  by 
bringing  to  it  the  bones  of  St.  Dyfrig,  "  Dubric,  the  high  saint," 
as  Tennyson  calls  him,  who  was  soon  to  figure  honourably  in  the 
Arthurian  legend,  and  who  in  fact  did  a  good  work  on  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  diocese  a  generation  earlier  than  Teilo  or  David  ;  thence- 
forward Dyfrig  was  spoken  of  as  the  first  bishop  of  LlandafF,  but  he 
never  displaced  St.  Teilo  in  LlandafF  sentiment.     Urban  also  made 
a  notable  agreement  with  Earl  Robert,  the  lord  of  Glamorgan,  defin- 
ing the  rights  of  the  men  of  his  manor  against  those  of  Cardiff  Castle. 
But  he  did  not  follow  the  Norman  custom  of  constituting  the  canons 
as  a  chapter  with  estates  separate  from  his  own,  though  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  "  dean  of  the  church  "  (his  own  brother)  in  his  day 
may  point  to  some  such  intention.     His  hands,  indeed,  were  full 
enough  with  suits  and  journeys  to  Rome,  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to 
claim  for  his  diocese  some  parts  of  the  dioceses  of  Hereford  and  St. 
Davids,  where  the  boundary  had  remained  uncertain.     On  one  of 
these  journeys  Urban  died  at  Pisa  in  11 33.     Henceforth  the  diocese 
contained  roughly  the  modern  counties  of  Glamorgan  and  Mon- 
mouth, without  the  Gower  peninsula. 

It  was  Bishop  Henry  of  Abergavenny  (1193-1218)  who  gave 
to  the  canons  separate  estates  from  his  own,  and  settled  the  chapter 
upon  what  is  roughly  its  present  basis,  with  four  dignitaries  and  nine 
other  prebendaries.  But  Henry's  constitution  retained  peculiar 
features.  In  the  first  place  there  was  no  dean  ;  and  the  bishop  him- 
self presided  in  chapter  even  when  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  church 


Page    14  The  Chapter 

and  chapter  were  discussed.     Secondly,  Henry's  model  was  not  that 

of  the  great  Normanised  cathedrals,  Salisbury,  York  and  Lincoln, 
but  rather  those  reformed  before  the  Normans  came  ;  at  LlandafF, 
as  at  Wells  and  London,  the  archdeacon  stood  first  of  the  dignitaries, 
and  he  presided  in  chapter  in  the  bishop's  absence  ;  and,  as  at  Here- 
ford and  Wells,  the  treasurer  took  precedence  of  the  chancellor.  At 
LlandafF  too,  the  four  chief  dignitaries  never  took,  as  elsewhere,  the 
four  corner  seats  in  the  choir  ;  they  remained  at  its  west  end,  grouped 
together,  as  once  the  chief  clergy  had  been  in  the  apses  of  primitive 
churches,  and  as  they  always  were  in  chapter  ;  and  there  they  remain 
in  the  modern  choir.  In  passing  we  may  notice  that  it  was  just 
before  this  bishop's  time  that  Archbishop  Baldwin,  accompanied 
by  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  visited  the  Church  in  Wales,  with  a  view 
to  demonstrating  the  supremacy  of  Canterbury.  In  1 188  they  came 
to  LlandafF,  preached  the  crusade  in  public,  the  English  standing  on 
one  side  and  the  Welsh  on  the  other,  and  stayed  the  night  with 
Bishop  William  of  Saltmarsh  ;  and  the  archbishop  next  morning 
said  Mass  at  the  high  altar.  In  1205,  in  Bishop  Henry's  time.  King 
John  granted  to  LlandafF  an  annual  fair  on  four  days  in  Whitsun 
week. 

Statutes  made  by  later  bishops  and  chapter  show  us  how  Henry's 
system  worked  down  to  the  Reformation.  Each  canon  possessed 
an  individual  prebend  or  income,  of  which  prebends  most  were 
derived  from  the  estates  of  certain  parishes,  served  by  the  prebendary's 
deputy  or  vicar,  but  four  seem  to  have  been  "  cursal  "  or, "  cursory," 
derived  from  a  fourth  share  in  the  greater  tithes  of  certain  estates  in 
LlandafF  itself.  Further,  the  chapter  had  a  common  fund,  the  bulk 
of  which  was  divided  between  those  canons  who  in  a  given  year  kept 
residence.  In  order  to  keep  residence  a  canon  must  reside  continu- 
ously for  thirteen  weeks  in  the  first  year,  and  afterwards  for  twelve 
weeks  severally  or  continuously  in  each  year.  It  is  plain  that  the 
number  in  residence  at  any  one  time  must  always  have  been  small  ; 
we  know  of  many  prebends  given  to  pluralist  royal  clerks  or  papal 
nominees,  who  can  seldom  have  seen  LlandafF;  and  in  1284  Arch- 
bishop Peckham  wrote  to  complain  of  the  poor  service  done  to  Llan- 
dafF by  its  canons.  Things  probably  did  not  mend  ;  for  the 
bishops  themselves,  from  1300  onward,  were  men  with  less  and  less 
of  local  sympathy,  and  must  have  lived  away  for  much  of  their  time 
on  their  several  manors,  or,  after  1281,  in  their  London  house  close 
to  St.  Mary's  in  the  Strand.  It  is  perhaps  a  sign  of  weakness  that 
in  1 3 16  Edward  II  wrote  to  complain  of  disorders  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  sanctuary  at  LlandafF,  outlaws  and  malefactors  protected 


The  Reformation 


Page   15 


by  the  cathedral  not  being  detained  but  allowed  to  break  out  and  harm 
the  neighbourhood. 

The  services,  however,  did  not  depend  entirely  upon  the  canons. 
Each  canon  was  expected  to  provide  a  vicar-choral  or  choir  deputy, 
some  being  priests,  some  deacons  and  some  sub-deacons,  to  represent 
him  at  service  when  absent.  The  full  complement  of  vicars  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  kept  up  ;  but  further  there  were,  as  time  wore 
on,  several  priests  of  chantries  in  the  cathedral  who  were  bound  to 
take  part  in  the  choir  services  both  by  day  and  night.  They  were  : 
the  chaplain  of  the  Lady  Mass,  two  of  Bishop  William  of  Radnor 
(1257-65),  one  of  Bishop  William  de  Braose  (1266-87,  see  pp.  20,  24), 
two  of  Humphrey  VII  de  Bohun,  earl  of  Hereford  (1291),  two  of 
Bishop  John  of  Monmouth  (1295-1323),  King  Edward  I,  benefactor, 
and  their  predecessors  and  successors,  one  of  Bishop  Marshall 
(1478-98,  see  pp.  21,  22),  and  one  of  Sir  David  Mathew  (c.  1480, 
see  p.  24).  Between  them  these  clerks  must  have  maintained  the 
round  of  worship  ;  for  at  the  Reformation  we  read  that  the  church 
had  formerly  had  Morrow  Mass,  Lady  Mass,  and  High  Mass  daily, 
and  there  is  a  record  of  many  vestments  and  ornaments  taken  by 
Edward  VI's  commissioners.  The  chapter,  with  these  clergy,  also 
cared  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  manor  and  parish  of  Llandaff,  and 
for  their  four  chapels  of  ease.  Sir  David  Mathew's  chanter  was 
bound  to  teach  twenty  children.  In  practice 
there  appear  to  have  been  about  ten  clerks,  ^<5^iJ 

either  vicars  or  chanters.    They  lived  together  /^^.  ^  i 

in  a  college  to  the  east  of  the  church. 

At  the  Reformation  what  splendour  the 
cathedral  had  was  largely  squandered.  Hear- 
ing, about  1539,  of  the  royal  destruction  of 
such  shrines  as  that  of  St.  Thomas  at  Canter- 
bury the  canons  broke  down  the  great  silver- 
gilt  shrine  of  St.  Teilo  which  stood  in  the 
Lady  Chapel,  and  concealed  it,  and  also  the 
head-reliquaries  of  the  three  Llandaff  saints 
and  some  valuable  images.  Their  enemies 
said  that  they  had  done  so  for  their  own 
profit,  but  they  may  well  have  meant  to  save 
the  gear  for  better  days.  Bishop  Holgate,  afterwards  of  York, 
sent  his  chancellor  to  enquire,  and  part,  the  plate  of  the  shrine, 
was  delivered  to  the  bishop,  who  appears  to  have  sold  it  for  his  own 
benefit,  giving  some  vestments  and  an  organ  in  return  to  the  cathedral. 


r^Ki 


\(^\ 


Page   1 6  Decline 

The  remainder  was  handed  to  Thomas  Cromwell  in  London  by  one 
of  the  canons,  whose  nerve  seems  to  have  failed  him. 

When  the  mist  clears  again  in  the  more  settled  days  of  Elizabeth, 
we  find  the  old  foundation  adapted  to  new  uses.  One  canon  only 
was  resident.  The  minor  clergy  had  given  place  to  two  priest-vicars 
and  six  lay  vicars,  or  singing  men,  who  with  four  boys  maintained 
the  choir  service.  We  meet  other  lay  officers,  such  as  a  school- 
master, a  seneschal,  a  proctor,  a  baihff,  a  registrar,  sexton,  clock- 
keeper  and  glasier. 

Already  decay  had  begun,  and  the  story  of  the  next  two  centuries 
is  sad  indeed.  The  bishopric  and  canonries  alike  had  been  impov- 
erished by  bad  management.  In  1575  there  was  anxiety  for  the 
safety  of  the  fabric  of  the  church,  and  Bishop  Blethin  proposed  to 
decrease  the  personnel  in  order  to  save  it.  Blethin,  with  due  post- 
Reformation  care,  provided  for  a  steady  rota  of  preaching  by  the 
canons  on  Sundays  and  saints'  days  ;  but  within  fifty  years  there  was 
but  one  sermon  a  month,  and  deputies  were  allowed.  During  the 
Commonwealth  the  church  was  desecrated,  and  some  of  the  revenue 
was  used  to  pay  itinerant  preachers.  In  1660  the  previous  order 
was  restored,  and  the  sung  services  struggled  on,  accompanied  by 
a  new  organ  given  by  Lady  Kemysh  of  Cefn  Mabley,  which  stood 
in  a  gallery  north  of  the  choir.  In  1691  the  choir  of  singers,  never 
very  satisfactory,  was  put  down,  partly  for  the  benefit  of  the  fabric 
fund  ;  the  organ  was  a  wreck  by  171 8.  At  that  time  daily  prayers 
were  still  said.  The  two  vicars-choral  saw  to  the  services  in  the 
cathedral  and  two  outlying  chapels  and  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the 
parish.  The  schoolmaster  "  gave  out  the  psalms  "  and  appears  to 
have  accompanied  his  boys  on  the  fiddle  when  there  was  singing. 
Some  time  during  the  eighteenth  century  daily  prayers  stopped 
entirely.  The  chapter  met  annually  at  Petertide  for  business  : 
they  engaged  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  a 
grand  scheme  for  the  remodelling  of  the  fabric,  now  rapidly 
falling  into  ruin,  and  they  saw  to  their  own  estates,  which  appear 
in  1 71 7  to  have  brought  in  about  £20  a  head,  and  in  1835  about 
;^45  ;  but  almost  their  only  connexion  with  the  worship  of  the 
church  appears  to  be  that  one  of  the  vicars  commonly  also  held  a 
canonry.  As  for  the  bishops  :  from  the  time  of  Elizabeth  to  that 
of  Anne  they  were  men  of  local  sympathy  and  resided  generally  at 
the  manor  house  of  Mathern,  near  Chepstow,  having  lost  both  their 
LlandafF  home  and  their  London  house  in  Elizabeth's  time  ;  one  of 
them,  William  Morgan  (1595-1601),  had  already  earned  an  undying 


Recovery  P^i^   I  7 

name  as  the  translator  of  the  Welsh  Bible.  Then,  in  the  Georgian 
days,  the  poor  little  bishopric  was  given,  rather  as  an  ornament  of 
merit  than  as  a  call  to  service,  to  English  ecclesiastics,  who  appear 
to  have  lived  right  away,  in  Shropshire  for  example  or  even  in  the 
Lake  District. 

New  life  came  in  the  nineteenth  century  with  bishops  who  resided 
within  the  diocese.  In  1840  the  cathedral  began  to  revive.  It 
received  a  head  of  its  own,  the  bishop  giving  up  the  south-west  stall 
in  choir  and  the  domestic  headship  of  the  chapter  to  a  dean.  Soon, 
by  Act  of  Parliament,  an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  four 
canons,  with  sufficient  emolument,  divided  between  them  the  duty 
of  being  always  in  residence,  and  the  others  were  disendowed.  Be- 
tween 1843  and  1869  the  church  itself  was  restored,  through  the 
efforts  of  Bishop  OUivant  (1849-82)  and  the  deans  and  chapter,  with 
enthusiastic  help  from  the  public,  to  something  like  its  original 
beauty.  The  old  Bishop's  Court,  with  the  ruins  of  the  castle  and  a 
good  eighteenth-century  residence,  was  bought  back  by  the  Ecclesi- 
astical Commission.  And  the  cathedral  once  more  took  its  place  in 
the  life  of  the  diocese.  Choral  festivals  and  other  great  services  were 
held  ;  the  pulpit  began  to  be  respected  in  the  now  growing  town  of 
Cardiff:  the  library  was  much  improved  ;  and  in  1864  the  chapter 
instituted  a  popular  Sunday  evening  service.  In  1875,  by  Order 
in  Council,  the  pastoral  care  of  Llandaff  was  taken  from  the  chapter 
and  given  to  a  parochial  vicar,  to  whom  was  entrusted  the  Sunday 
evening  service,  with  other  rights  and  duties  in  the  cathedral.  Dean 
Vaughan,  scholar,  schoolmaster  and  preacher,  founded  in  1880  a 
good  preparatory  school  in  connexion  with  the  cathedral,  and  a  daily 
choral  evening  service  of  cathedral  type  became  possible. 

Since  Disestablishment,  in  192 1,  the  Monmouthshire  half  of 
the  diocese  has  received  a  bishop  of  its  own,  and  St.  Woolos,  Newport, 
has  become  its  temporary  cathedral.  The  school,  the  choir  and  the 
daily  singing,  have  been  maintained  in  face  of  great  difficulties. 
There  is,  indeed,  in  Wales  now  no  money  to  maintain  in  the  cathe- 
drals such  homes  of  learning,  devotion  and  sacred  art  as  both  ancient 
and  modern  ideals  require.  The  fabric  itself  is  once  more  a  big 
anxiety  to  its  custodians.  Though  the  dean  is  now  bound  to  resi- 
dence, the  canons  are  called  up  for  but  four  Sundays  a  year  apiece. 
Several  of  them,  however,  have  given,  and  do  give,  more,  both  to  its 
services  and  to  its  other  life.  May  Heaven  prosper  their,  and  all 
other,  efforts  for  the  welfare  of  this  ancient  mother  church  I 


II.— THE    STORY    OF   THE   ARCHITECTURE 

WHEN  Bishop  Urban,  in  1120,  translated  St.  Dyfrig's  bones 
to  Llandaff  (see  p.  13),  they  were  laid,  on  23  May,  before  the 
altar  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  on  the  north  side  of  the  little  old 
pre-Conquest  church.  The  "  Book  of  Llandaff  "  tells  us  that  this 
church  was  28  feet  long,  15  feet  wide,  and  20  feet  high,  with  little 
aisles  and  a  round  porticus,  or  apse,  12  feet  long.  We  do  not  know 
where  it  stood. 

Already,  on  14  April  in  the  same  year,  fortified  by  a  letter  of 
Archbishop  Ralph  of  Sees,  Urban  had  begun  the  building  of  a 
grander  church,  which  has  grown,  in  ways  not  entirely  clear  to  us, 
into  the  building  which  we  see  to-day.  Urban  would  probably 
aim  first  at  completing  a  habitable  choir  ;  and  his  work  may  well 
have  extended  one  bay  or  so  further  west  than  the  present  choir. 
This  would  explain  why  the  pointed  work  westward  from  this  spot 
is  a  little  earlier  than  that  east  of  it.  We  have  now  Norman  work 
remaining  in  the  east  wall  of  the  presbytery,  and  in  the  south  wall 
which  adjoins  it  as  far  as  to  the  middle  of  the  choir.  At  the  east 
end  is  a  rich  arch,  the  true  proportion  of  which,  hidden  by  the  raised 
pavement,  resembles  that  of  the  similar  but  earlier  feature  at  Here- 
ford ;  at  Hereford  there  was  an  apse  to  the  east,  but  we  do  not  know 
the  exact  shape  of  the  eastern  member  at  Llandaff.  Two  early  seals 
of  the  chapter  suggest  that  it  may  have  had  flanking  turrets.  West- 
ward from  the  arch  for  some  17  feet  the  presbytery  had  no  aisles  ; 
the  remains  of  its  two  south  windows  can  be  seen.  The  openings 
are  undoubtedly  windows,  for  they  were  adorned  on  the  outside  with  a 
rich  medallion  ornament,  like  that  of  the  arch,  a  rare  design  found 
somewhat  later  at  Malmesbury  and  elsewhere.  Westward  again 
the  church  was  broadened,  at  least  on  the  south,  by  the  addition  of 
an  aisle,  chamber  or  chapel,  separated  from  the  centre  by  a  fairly 
solid  wall,  still  partially  preserved  to  half  the  length  of  the  present 
choir.  Whether  at  this  point  a  central  tower  was  begun  (as  ancient 
seals  suggest),  whether  at  the  same  point  there  was  a  plan  to  broaden 
still  further  into  transepts  (as  a  stone  plinth  below  ground  suggests), 
we  cannot  now  tell.  Certainly  there  was  once  an  upper  range  of 
Norman  windows  in  the  present  presbytery  and  the  eastern  bay  of  the 
choir.  We  are  told  too  that  in  the  nineteenth  century  there  still 
remained  portions  of  a  big  Norman  arch  spanning  the  church, 
where  the  big  modern  Gothic  arch  now  stands,  and  a  little  Norman 
doorway  immediately  to  the  east  of  it  in  the  south  wall. 

After  a  pause,  about  1 1 70,  the  outer  walls  of  the  present  nave  were 
built,  continuing  westward  from  Urban's  outer  walls.     The  main 

18 


The  Nave  P^g^   ^9 

north  and  south  doorways  are  of  rich  late  Norman  or  Transitional 
work.  Then,  after  another  pause,  the  six  western  arches  of  the  nave 
were  erected,  working  westward  no  doubt  from  Urban's  choir 
building.  These  very  dignified  arches  are  in  a  style  typical  of  early 
Gothic  work  in  the  West  of  England,  a  style  which  begins  at  Worces- 
ter and  at  Wells  about  1 170  and  is  gradually  merged  some  fifty  years 
later  in  the  ordinary  early  Gothic  work  of  England.  In  this  work 
we  often  find  piers  of  octagon  shape  enriched  by  triplets  of  round 
shafts,  the  central  shaft  of  the  three  being  drawn  to  a  point,  or  nib, 
like  a  ship's  keel  ;  at  LlandafF  all  three  have  the  nib.  The  capitals 
often  break  into  graceful  stiff  foliage,  commonly  with  very  tall 
stalks  and  frequently  rising  without  any  band  or  neckmold,  as  if 
growing  out  of  the  shaft.  Good  figures  and  heads  appear  also. 
The  plinths  of  the  bases,  hke  the  abaci  (the  top  members  of  the  capitals) 
are  of  half-octagon  plan.  These  features,  all  seen  at  Llandaff, 
suggest  that  masons  may  have  been  brought  here  from  the  west  of 
England  about  1190.  But  we  do  not  here  see  such  rich  work  as 
we  see  at  Wells.  Thus  in  the  arches  themselves  the  effect  of  light  and 
shade  is  sought  by  simple  angular  chamfering,  continued  round 
from  the  piers,  not  by  elaborate  curved  mouldings  ;  and  some  of 
the  capitals  at  the  west  end  were  left  half-cut.  Almost  similar 
arches  were  next  carried  eastward,  cut  in  part  through  Urban's 
choir  walls.  The  western  piers  are  thick,  and  have  vaulting  shafts  ; 
these  eastern  ones  are  thinner.  It  is  just  possible  that  at  first  it  was 
intended  to  vault  the  nave  and  aisles.  This  was  never  done  ;  but 
one  bay  on  the  south,  the  little  chamber  by  the  chapter-house,  re- 
ceived a  low  vault  very  typical  of  this  style  and  time.  The  bulk  of 
the  west  front  came  next,  about  1220.  The  peculiarities  of  the  local 
manner  now  largely  disappear,  though  in  the  exterior  the  rosettes  of 
foliage,  the  continuous  framing  of  the  windows,  and  the  neckless 
foliage  recall  it  ;  but  the  round  bases  and  abaci,  and  the  shafts,  some 
detached  and  some  with  the  broad  fillet  instead  of  the  nib,  are  ordinary 
work  of  the  early  years  of  Henry  III — ordinary,  but  combined  in  a 
composition  of  singular  grace  which  deserves  careful  study.  The 
inside  is  a  rich,  but  simple,  design,  in  which  the  framing  of  the  three 
great  windows  is  carried  from  floor  to  ceiling  (the  upper  window, 
it  should  be  noticed,  was  meant  to  be  hidden  above  the  flat  wooden 
ceiling).  The  outside,  a  design  in  four  stages,  is  once  more  very 
plain  if  compared  with  the  sister  work  at  Wells  ;  it  has  but  two 
statues,  our  Lord  seated  in  the  gable,  and  a  bishop,  probably  St. 
Teilo,  in  the  curious  pendant  of  the  doorway.  The  nave  was 
completed  with  a  clerestory,  which  perished  almost  entirely  in  the 


Page  20  Completion 

eighteenth  century,  but  of  which  the  present  modern  work  is  a  fairly 
faithful  copy  ;  and  a  wooden  ceiling  closed  it  in.  Be  it  noted  that 
most  of  this  work  must  fall  in  the  time  of  Bishop  Henry  of  Aber- 
gavenny (see  pp.  13,  24). 

The  two  easternmost  arches  of  the  work  just  described  are  each 
filled  in  with  a  curious  sub-arch,  which  is  not  central.  Similar 
sub-arches  were  used  at  Glastonbury  to  buttress  the  central  tower. 
The  fact  suggests  that  the  intention  was  next  to  clear  away  all  Urban's 
presbytery,  build  a  tower  where  it  stands,  flanked  by  transepts,  and 
then  continue  the  church  eastwards  in  a  new  choir.  Thus  all  the 
present  nave  and  choir  would  have  formed  a  very  dignified  nave. 
But  if  it  was  so  the  plan  was  too  ambitious  and  had  to  be  given  up. 
The  choir  and  altar  have  remained  where  they  were.  For  ceremonial 
reasons,  however,  a  way  of  taking  processions  round  behind  the  high 
altar  was  desirable  ;  and  very  soon  an  aisle  was  carried  round  the 
outside  of  Urban's  presbytery,  cutting  through  or  destroying  his 
eastern  ending  ;  as  at  Dore  there  were  probably  chapels  in  its  eastern 
walk. 

Works  of  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  include  the  old  south 
tower  (of  which  probable  fragments  are  in  the  Museum),  the  detached 
belfry  (now  a  ruin)  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  where  it  struck  the  eye,  as 
the  church  itself  nestling  on  Teilo's  lowly  site  could  never  do,  and 
the  chapter-house  and  the  room  above,  probably  a  treasury.  The 
chapter-house  is  almost  square,  vaulted  from  a  central  pillar  ;  it  is 
a  rare  shape,  seen  also  at  Glasgow  and  in  the  much  later  chapter- 
house at  Senlis,  admirably  suited  to  so  small  a  building.  The  door- 
way is  not  central,  being  simply  cut  through  the  entrance  to  an  older 
staircase,  which  is  prettily  chamfered  back  in  the  corner.  The  vault- 
ing shafts  are  stopped  some  seven  feet  above  the  ground  ;  the  chapter 
seats  below  may  have  been  of  wood,  as  they  are  known  to  have  been 
in  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  church  being  thus  fairly  well  completed  and  equipped,  a 
dedication  service  was  held  on  23  November,  1266.  On  the  same 
day  Bishop  William  de  Braose  was  enthroned.  When  he  died,  in 
1287,  he  was  buried  in  the  Lady  Chapel,  where  his  effigy  remains. 
This  chapel  must  have  been  built  in  his  time.  Though  spoilt  by 
its  present  furniture,  it  is  a  fine  example  of  the  grace  and  proportion 
of  the  late  thirteenth  century.  The  tracery  in  the  east  window  is 
modern. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  the  walls  of  the  aisles  (which  on  the  north, 
like  the  arches,  seem  to  have  begun  to  lean  outwards),  were  repaired, 
and  two  small  doorways  were  cut  in  them  (the  buttresses,  however, 


Improvement 


Pa 


ze  21 


are  all  modem).  At  the  same  time  the  lighting  of  the  church  wa« 
improved  by  the  insertion  of  big  windows  with  ogee  heads  ;  these 
windows,  like  the  older  doorways,  are  not  central  with  the  arches, 
and  may  follow  the  spacing  of  the  older  Norman  ones.  A  high 
light  was  given  to  the  presbytery  by  cutting  arches  through  Urban's 
walls  and  windows.  On  the  north  side  this  cutting  was  completed. 
On  the  south,  where  a  vtr\  big  window  (now  represented  by  a  modem 
reproduction)  was  placed  in  the  aisle,  we  can  see  how  the  cutting  was 
done,  stone  by  stone,  for  the  work  on  the  western  bay  was  abruptly 
abandoned.  (The  clerestory  above  is  modem.)  About  the  same 
time  the  arches  leading  r    i     j^..i'.|       i 

from  the  procession  path  j V~-^^^\  ■- 

to  the  Lady  Chapel  were       /aV 
raised,  and  given  curious     -  ^^ 
capitals  which  look  like 
an  attempt  to  copy  the 
neckless  capitals  of  the 
earlier  age. 

About  1350,  when 
"  Decorated  "  work  was 
passing  into  "  Perpen- 
dicular," a  new  stone 
reredos  was  made.  It 
now  stands  in  the  north- 
east chapel.  Its  two  doors  gave  access  to  a  vestry,  the  back 
wall  of  which  has  left  its  mark  on  the  floor  of  the  Lady  Chapel. 
A  rather  similar  reredos  was  placed  in  the  Lady  Chapel ;  expelled 
some  years  ago,  it  has  been  preser^-ed  and  awaits  its  return.  The  main 
reredos  was  later  surmounted  by  two  rows  of  niches,  after  the  fashion 
of  Winchester  and  Southwark,  which  completely  hid  Urban's 
eastern  arch  ;  they  disappeared  in  the  eighteenth  century-.  The 
good  niches  in  the  Lady  Chapel  and  in  the  north-east  chapel  are  of 
the  fifteenth  century.  Bishop  Marshall  (1478-96,  see  pp.  24,  25), 
built  a  new  throne,  and  perhaps  stalls.  The  little  choir,  which  occupied 
the  same  space  as  at  present,  was  closed  in  at  its  west  end,  behind  the 
returned  stalls,  with  a  wooden  screen  which  ran  right  across  the 
church  from  wall  to  wall. 

The  last  medieval  work  is  the  north  tower,  called  the  Jasper  Tower, 
after  Jasper  Tudor,  Duke  of  Bedford,  Henry  VII's  uncle,  who  is 
said  to  have  given  it.  It  is  one  of  four  or  five  towers  of  Somerset 
tj-pe  in  this  part  of  Glamorganshire.  The  crown  of  it,  though 
modem,  fairly  represents  the  old.     The  delicate  filHng  in  of  the 


Page  11  Transformation  and  Ruin 

windows  is  old.  Bishop  Marshall  bequeathed  money  "  for  the  new 
tower  or  for  the  fabric  of  the  church." 

A  century  later,  ruin  had  begun  ;  in  1 594  we  read  of  the  "  ruined 
and  decayed  "  state  of  the  church.  Money  indeed  was  spent  on 
repairs,  but  it  was  insufficient.  In  November,  1703,  the  famous 
storm  spoken  of  in  Addison's  "  Campaign  "  and  Evelyn's  Diary 
brought  pinnacles  of  the  north  tower  tumbling  through  the  aisle 
roof  ;  and  the  south  tower  suffered  likewise  in  1722-3,  after  which  the 
services  were  moved  from  the  leaky  choir  into  the  Lady  Chapel. 
The  chapter  then  bestirred  themselves,  raised  funds  (partly  by  a 
"  Brief"),  and  sent,  in  1734,  for  John  Wood,  the  architect.  Wood 
is  honoured  to-day  as  the  creator  of  the  classic  beauty  of  Bath,  the 
town  of  his  adopted  home.  He  was  a  convinced  classicist,  and 
had  written  a  book  to  prove  that  the  Orders  of  classical  architecture, 
far  from  being  an  invention  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  were  involved 
in  the  Divine  instructions  given  to  the  Jews.  At  Llandaff  he  recast 
the  six  eastern  bays  of  the  church  in  his  own  style  ;  the  decrepit 
walls  were  lowered,  a  new  roof,  concealed  by  plaster  vaulting,  was 
placed  upon  them,  the  Gothic  work  in  the  choir  was  hidden  behind 
classical  work,  mainly  Ionic,  in  plaster,  new  stalls  and  screen  were 
erected  on  the  traditional  lines,  and  a  large  portico  surmounted  the 
elevated  Communion  table.  In  itself  the  choir  was  not  unpleasing, 
and  was  pronounced  "  exceeding  fine."  Some  of  the  old  windows 
were  replaced  by  wide  classical  openings  ;  others  were  left,  as  were 
the  pointed  arches  in  the  two  bays  which  now  formed  the  nave. 
The  intention  was  to  place  a  domed  tower  in  the  next  bay  westward, 
and  a  portico  in  the  next,  and  then  to  pull  down  the  two  last  bays, 
with  the  west  front  and  what  remained  of  the  towers.  The  west 
end  of  the  new  work  was  boarded  up  from  1736  to  1751  in  the  hope 
that  this  might  be  done.  Mercifully  funds  failed,  and  a  stone  front 
was  built  at  the  point  where  stone  paving  now  cuts  across  the  tiled 
floor  of  the  nave.  The  Gothic  ruins  were  left,  and  the  north  tower 
was  kept  in  repair  for  the  sake  of  the  bells  ;  but  the  south  tower 
and  most  of  the  clerestory  perished. 

Ninety  years  later,  when  the  great  revival  of  religion  began 
in  the  diocese,  ecclesiastical  taste  had  changed.  Wood's  work 
was  very  properly  undone,  and  obloquy  beyond  his  desert  was 
heaped  on  his  name.  The  new  work  as  a  whole  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  local  architect,  who  made  it  the  chief  interest  of  his  life. 
This  architect  was  John  Prichard,  son  of  a  vicar-choral  of  the  cathe- 
dral, with  whom  he  lies  buried  under  a  characteristic  gravestone 
near  his  south-east  door.     The  work  was  at  first  supervised  by  T.  H. 


Restoration 


Page  23 


Wyatt  ;  and  later  Prichard  was  joined  by  a  partner,  J.  P.  Seddon, 
whose  influence  brought  in  some  admirable  works  of  art  by  members 
of  the  Pre-Raphaelite  school.  Good  support  was  given  by  a  family 
of  sculptors  and  builders  settled  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  for 
three  generations  have  had  the  cathedral  in  their  care  ;  to  Edward 
Clarke,  the  founder  of  the  family,  and  his  son  William  are  due  the 
excellence  of  the  modern  carving  and  the  individuality  of  such  heads 
as  we  see  in  the  corbels  against  the  nave  walls,  all  of  which  are  modern. 
Some  of  Prichard's  work  seems  clumsy  to  modern  eyes,  notably  the 
raising  of  the  altar,  the  too  high  choir-stalls,  the  protruding  throne, 
the  over-large  arch  of  triumph,  and  the  heavy  pews,  all  of  which 
mar  the  proportion.  Nevertheless  Prichard  cared  for  the  indivi- 
duality of  the  building,  and  he  was  a  true  artist,  making  skilful  use 
of  fresh  ideas,  whether  drawn  from  afar  or  from  his  own  invention  ; 
and  he  blended  all  into  a  harmonious  whole,  at  once  modern  and 
ancient.  His  originality  is  seen  in  such  features  as  the  eastern- 
most gable,  with  its  curious  pinnacles  and  touching  crucifix  ;  and 
such  adornments  as  the  row  of  sovereigns'  heads  outside  the  south  aisle, 
cut  by  William  Clarke,  are  a  joy  to  visitors.  The  spire,  with  which 
in  1869  Prichard  replaced  the  ruined  south  tower,  is  a  bold  but 
successful  piece  of  work.  It  resembles  somewhat  the  spires  of  south 
Normandy  ;  its  symbolism,  in  which  figures  representing  the  nations 
are  watched  over  by  the  heads  of  great  missionaries,  is  original.  Yet 
it  harmonises  with  the  old  work  ;  the  colour  of  its  Campden  and 
Dundry  stone  is  mellow  in  all  weathers  and  at  all  seasons  ;  and  from 
any  point  of  view  it  gives  to  the  west  end  of  Llandaflf  an  unusual  and 
unforgettable  charm. 


35£J?^ 


III.— MONUMENTS,  ORNAMENTS,  ETC. 

MONUMENTS.  There  are  six  ancient  effigies  of  bishops, 
some  of  which  have,  however,  been  moved  so  many  times  dur- 
ing restorations  that  they  cannot  be  assigned  with  certainty. 
The  first,  of  the  thirteenth  century,  lies  over  St.  Teilo's  tomb,  south 
of  the  presbytery,  and  appears  to  have  been  made  to  cover  his  relics 
there.  In  the  north  wall  opposite  is  another  of  about  the  same  age, 
possibly  that  made  for  St.  Dyfrig's  tomb,  which  was  north  of  the 
high  altar.  The  niche  in  which  it  lies  is  much  later,  and  is  believed 
to  be  that  of  Bishop  Bromfield  (1389-93)  ;  it  has  a  figure  of  the 
Rising  Lord  sculptured  in  the  soffit  of  the  arch,  where  the  eyes  of 
the  sleeping  figure  would,  as  it  were,  be  gladdened  by  it  on  waking. 
North  of  the  Lady  altar  remains  the  blue  lias  effigy  of  Bishop 
William  de  Braose  (p.  15),  with  inscription.  The  latest,  under  the 
arch  opposite  St.  Teilo,  is  Bishop  Marshall  (pp.  15,  21).  There  were 
also  in  1718  effigies  of  Bishop  Henry  of  Abergavenny  (pp.  13,  20), 
and  Bishop  William  of  Radnor  (p.  15)  ;  possibly  the  former  is  that  in 
the  south  wall  of  the  nave,  in  an  old  niche  moved  from  the  dwarf 
wall  behind  the  choir -stalls,  and  the  latter  that  in  the  north  wall  of 
the  nave. 

There  are  two  fine  modern  effigies  of  bishops  ;  Bishop  Ollivant, 
re-builder  and  historian  of  the  cathedral  (1849-82),  has  a  recumbent 
effigy,  by  H.  Armistead,  R.A.,  north  of  the  high  altar,  in  St.  Dyfrig's 
old  place  ;  and  Bishop  Richard  Lewis  (1883-1905)  is  shown,  erect 
and  blessing,  above  the  presbytery  doorway,  in  a  bronze  figure  by 
Sir  William  Goscombe  John,  R.A.  Sir  Goscombe  also  made  the  much- 
admired  marble  figure  of  Dean  Vaughan  in  the  north  choir-aisle. 

There  is  a  fine  gravestone  of  the  thirteenth  century  in  the  boys' 
vestry  in  the  south  aisle  ;  it  is  of  a  layman  "  and  his  wife  also," 
their  defaced  heads  being  seen  above  its  cross,  but  the  name  is  un- 
decipherable. There  are  four  good  alabaster  tombs  of  knights  and 
ladies  dating  from  the  fifteenth  century.  That  of  Sir  David  Mathew 
now  lies  close  to  Bishop  Ollivant,  having  been  moved  from  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  neighbouring  chapel,  known  as  the  Mathew 
Chapel.  It  measures  6  ft.  4  in.  from  head  to  heels.  Sir  David 
(p.  15),  a  very  tall  man,  was  Edward  IV's  standard-bearer  at  the 
Battle  of  Towton,  and  was  murdered  in  an  affray  at  Neath.  Sir 
Christopher  Mathew  (d.  1500),  and  his  lady  lie  in  a  coloured  arch, 
with  weepers  around  the  base,  south  of  the  Mathew  Chapel.  This 
arch  has  a  squint  through  to  the  Lady  altar.  Sir  William  Mathew 
(d.  1526)  and  his  lady  lie  on  a  rich  base  north  of  the  nave.  The 
remains  of  the  Mathew  crest,  a  heathcock,  can  be  seen.     In  the 

24 


From  an  Old  Print. 


,'tirigkl. 

From  the 
North-east  1830. 


Photo — Sydney  Pitcher,  F.U.P.S.,  (Jluuc,...tL. 


Copyright . 


From  the  South-east, 
present  day. 


Sculpture  and  Pictures  P^S^  25 

south-east  chapel,  which  is  arranged  as  the  Consistory  Court,  lies  a 
figure  said  to  be  a  Lady  Audley.  A  skeleton  figure,  like  that  often 
seen  below  the  figure  of  the  living  in  late  tombs,  lies  in  the  north  wall. 

Other  Stone-work.  The  most  ancient  stone  object  in  LlandaflF 
is  a  cross  of  strapwork  design,  dating  from  before  the  Conquest, 
found  at  the  back  of  an  ancient  well  at  Bishop's  Court.  Two 
incised  stones  built  into  the  west  front  may  date  also  from  this  era. 

The  Pulpit  has  interesting  figures  of  Moses,  David,  St.  John 
the  Baptist  and  St.  Paul,  designed  by  the  pre-Raphaelite  poet  and 
sculptor,  Thomas  Woolner,  R.A.  Formerly  there  was  a  pulpit 
in  the  nave  by  the  second  pillar  on  the  south  from  the  screen  ;  and 
there  was  another,  in  171 8,  in  the  chapter-house. 

The  only  old  Woodwork  is  two  chests,  one  with  medieval  iron- 
work, now  behind  the  organ,  one  of  the  seventeenth  century  in  the 
chapter-house.  The  teak  choir-stalls  and  throne  are  Victorian. 
The  statuettes  in  them  deserve  notice.  The  prophets  above,  and  the 
minstrels  in  the  sub-stalls,  were  modelled  by  Milo  Griffith,  A. R.A. 
The  oak  stalls  in  the  chapter-house  were  placed  there  in  193 1,  as  a 
memorial  to  Archdeacon  David  Davies  ;  the  design,  which  preserves 
the  old  arrangement,  is  by  Sir  Charles  Nicholson. 

The  main  reredos  has  three  Pictures  by  Dante  Gabriel  Rossetti, 
painted  between  1856  and  1864.  The  side  panels  depict  David, 
the  shepherd,  about  to  smite  Goliath,  and  David,  the  king,  showing 
his  dark  speech  upon  the  harp.  In  the  centre  the  Christ  Child, 
the  Son  of  David,  is  adored  by  a  shepherd  and  a  king  ;  the  king 
kisses  his  foot,  but  the  shepherd  his  hand.  The  models  for  David 
the  king  and  the  Blessed  Virgin  were  William  Morris  and  his  wife. 
The  work  is  beyond  praise.  Rossetti  also  designed 
the   pelican   sculptured  in  the  sedilia. 

Close  by  on  the  south  wall  hangs  a  Madonna  of  a 
very  different  type,  a  fine  work  ascribed  to  MuriUo. 
In  the  chapter-house  hangs  yet  another  type,  in  a 
medieval  picture  on  boards  which  formed  the  back  of 
Bishop  Marshall's  throne,  built  about  1490.  It  shows 
the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin.  She  is  borne  up  by 
angels,  while  other  angels  make  music  above,  their  red 
wings  forming  a  rich  pattern  against  the  cloud-flecked 
sky  ;  the  bishop  and  his  arms  are  seen  at  the  base. 
In  the  Lady  Chapel  hangs  a  Nativity  of  the  Baptist, 
part  of  which  is  ascribed  to  the  school  of  Raphael.  There 
is  an  old  wall-painting  on  the  south  wall  of  this  chapel.  \ 


Page   lb  Glass,   Organ,    &c. 

Painted  Glass.  There  is  no  old  glass.  The  most  notable 
modern  windows  are  by  Morris  and  Marshall,  in  the  south  choir 
aisle  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  nave.  The  centre  light  at  the  west 
end  is  by  Powell ;  the  Crucifixion  behind  the  dean's  stall  by  Sparrow. 
The  Lady  Chapel  is  gradually  being  filled  with  windows  by  Mr. 
Geoffrey  Webb. 

The  Organ  is  by  Norman  and  Beard  (1900).  Its  predecessor 
(Gray  and  Davison,  1861),  is  now  at  Usk  Parish  Church.  (See 
also  pp.  15,  16  for  earlier  organs.) 

In  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  five  Bells.  The  tenor, 
re-cast  in  1730  and  1782,  remains.  The  next  seven  date  from 
1879,  and  are  one  of  several  memorials  to  Dean  Thomas  Williams, 
a  great  restorer  ;  the  two  topmost  of  the  ten  were  added  in  1920  by 
a  conspicuous  benefactor  of  the  cathedral.  A  LlandafF  tradition, 
as  old  as  the  seventeenth  century,  says  that  the  great  bell,  Peter,  of 
Exeter,  once  hung  at  Llandaff,  but  was  taken  in  exchange  for  five 
smaller  bells  by  Bishop  Peter  Courtenay  of  Exeter  (1477-86). 

The  Plate  includes  two  Elizabethan  chalices,  with  a  paten  of 
1576,  and  two  flagons  of  1639.     The  verger's  wand  is  of  1828. 

Several  Welsh  Regimental  Colours  are  laid  up  in  the  cathedral. 
South  of  the  west  door  are  those  of  the  Forty-first  Foot,  carried  in 
Canada  in  1812-13,  ^^^  north  of  it  their  Crimean  colours.  Near 
by  on  the  south  wall  are  the  colours  of  the  Welch  Regiment  in  the 
South  African  War.  The  original  colours  of  the  Welsh  Guards 
hang  above  the  presbytery  and  remind  us  of  the  Great  War. 

The  old  Library  was  dispersed  and  burnt  during  the  Common- 
wealth. A  new  beginning  was  made  in  the  audit  house,  now  the 
"  Prebendal  House,"  in  the  churchyard,  by  Bishop  Francis  Davies 
(1667-74).  The  present  library  dates  mostly  from  Victorian  times, 
and  owes  much  to  Bishop  Ollivant's  bequests  and  to  some  quite 
recent  gifts.  It  was  housed  in  the  chapter-house  and  the  room  above  ; 
but  has  been  transferred  to  the  Prebendal  House,  which  has  been 
recently  enlarged  through  a  bequest  of  the  late  J.  E.OUivant,  chancellor 
of  the  diocese,  the  bishop's  son.  The  chancellor  of  the  church  is 
bringing  it  into  order  for  use  by  the  chapter  and  their  brethren. 

The  room  above  the  chapter-house  (its  octagonal  form  dates 
from  the  restoration)  has  been  quite  recently  made  into  a  small 
Museum  for  objects  of  cathedral  interest.  History  has  left  us 
few  treasures  ;  but  the  collection  of  stones,  prints,  drawings,  and 
facsimiles  of  episcopal  and  capitular  seals,  and  of  the  two  great 
LlandafT  books  (pp.  12,  18),  has  some  interest  as  illustrating  our 
long  story. 


I® 


I® 


KEY 


A.  Presbytery,  pp.  i8,  21. 

B.  Nave,  p.   19. 

C.  Chapter-house,  pp.  20,  25. 

D.  Lady  Chapel,  p.  20. 

E.  Jasper  Tower,  p.  21. 

F.  Prichard's  Tower,  p.  23. 

1.  St.  Teilo,  pp.  II,  24. 

2.  Bp.  William  de  Braose,  pp. 
15,  20. 

3.  Bp.  John  Marshall,  pp.  15; 
21,  25. 

4.  ?  St.  Dyfrig,  pp.   13,  24- 

5.  ?     Bp.     Henry     of     Aber- 
gavenny, pp.  13)  20. 

6.  ?   Bp.   William  of  Radnor, 
pp.  15,  24. 

7.  Bp.  Alfred  Olhvant,  p.   17. 
24. 

8.  Bp.  Richard  Lewis,  p.  24. 

9.  Dean  Vaughan,  pp.  17;  24. 

10.  Mathew  Tombs,  p.  24. 

11.  Lady  Audley. 

12.  Skeleton  figure. 

13.  Old  Reredos,  p.  21. 

14.  Rossetti's  Pictures,  p.  25. 

15.  Bp.   Marshall's   Picture,   p. 

25- 

16.  Stalls,  p.  25. 

17.  Pulpit,  p.  25. 

18.  Windows    by    Morns    and 
Marshall. 

19.  Regimental  Colours,  p.  26. 

20.  Sovereigns'  Heads,  p.  23. 
External  Length  260  ft. 
Height  of  Spire  195  ft- 

Key    Plan    of 
Llandaff  Cathedral. 


27 


\ 


Victoria 
Hygienic  Laundry 

{GWYN  NICHOLLS  &  WINFIELD,  LTD.) 

Services : 

General  Laundering.      Dry  Cleaning. 
Dyeing.   Carpet  Beating  and  Cleaning. 

Try  our 

FAMILY  WASHING  SERVICE 

As  cheap  as  Washing  at  Home,  without 
its  attendant  worries  and  chaos. 

LLANDAFF    NORTH 

Send  a  Post  Card,  or  Telephone  331  Whitchurch. 


28 


r 


I    Be  sure  and  visit 
J 


H.  J.  l: 

Big  Book  Shop 

where  you  will  find  a  choice   selection  of 
Books  on  all  subjects 

BIBLES,  PRAYER  AND  HYMNS,  CHILD- 
REN'S BOOKS,  FOUNTAIN  PENS, 
STATIONERY    AND    LOCAL    VIEWS. 


NOTE  THE  ADDRESS : 

13, 15,  and  17,  ROYAL  ARCADE,  CARDIFF. 

Phone  6327  Established  1887 


1 


r 


IF  IT'S  THE  BEST  IN 

FISH,  POULTRY,  GAME,  and 
RABBITS 

AT  REASONABLE  PRICES 
Then  the  Answer  is 

ASHTON'S 

CENTRAL    MARKET 


Deliveries    to   Llandaff   and   district  twice   daily. 
'PHONE  :    4913,  4914,  4915. 


20 


i 
I 


*f 


Established  1882.    Milk  Supplied  Twice  Daily  to  all  Parts  of  Cardiff. 


Purveyors 


I      Own  Cows  Kept. 


BROOK  FARM 


FAIRWATER,  CARDIFF 


Grade  "A"  Milk  Producer 


} 


1    THE  WELSH   MARCHES 
&  LOWER  WYE  VALLEY 


i 


Price  2/6  Net. 


I 

I 

P.  T.  Jones,  B.A.  (Oxon).       \ 

\ 
\ 


Is   the  second  book  of  the  popular 
series  "  England  Beautiful." 

It  is  the  first  book  to  deal  with  the  ro- 
mantic history  and  present  day  beauty 
of    the    wonderful    border    country 

ALL    BOOKSELLERS    OR    DIRECT    FROM 

THE    BRITISH     PUBLISHING    CO.,    LTD. 
CRYPT  HOUSE  PRESS        -        -        GLOUCESTER 


Jjl  ^^M  ^   ■■"*    11  "*    l>' 


■4t^tl^l»^ 


m*^^*%^^^w 


*-«»^i»^  11  ^  ii 


yo 


t^' 


FOR 


Smart  and  Exclusive  Millinery 

AT  REASONABLE  PRICES 

RADAELLI,  Wellfield  Road,  Roatli  Park 


1 


THE  LLANDAFF  CITY 
STORES   &   BAKERIES 

(WOODS  &  SEIG) 


Telephone:    40  Llandaff. 


HIGH-CLASS  TEA.        FAMILY  GROCERS, 
COFFEE  AND  BAKERS  AND 

PROVISION  DEALERS   CONFECTIONERS 


f  s 

1  The  Church  Depot  j 

I  Church  and  Sunday  School  Equipment.  I 

I  Books,  Pictures,  Candles  and  other  requisites.  : 

[  Support  your  own  Bookroom.  \ 

I  8  Park  Grove            ::             Cardiflf  i 


l^ 


Phone  :    i  loi. 


■ii^fciii^fcii^fcii^fcii^fciy 


■  l^fcll  ^fcll^^H^fcH^ 


31 


I  Telephone  No.  0304 

ORAM    &    WARD 

I  (VV.    WARD,    PROPniETOR) 

I  Tent,  Marquee  and  Sports  Contractors 

i  Tables,  Chairs  and    Awnings   for   Weddings, 

.  Balls,  Whist  Drives,  etc.          -           On  Hire 

1  25  Egerton  Street,  Canton       -       CARDIFF 


f 


I  ^11  ^11^  ttjf 


Telephone:  493  LuVNDAFF 
I  Telegrams  :  "  Cedar,  CARDIFF  " 

j  STEPHEN  TRESEDER  &  SON 

I  ELY  NURSERIES 

I  540    Cowbridge   Road 

I  CARDIFF 

J  Town  Shop  : 

I  Principality  Buildings      "      Cardiff 


*•► 


I  THE  DEPOT  FOR   BOOKS 

2  Bibles,  Hymns  A.  &  M.,  Prayer  Books  and  General  Literature 

i  for  the  Church,  University,  School  and  Home  

I  The  PRINCIPALITY  EDUCATIONAL  DEPOT  Co.  Ltd. 

I  Y.M.C.A.  Buildings  (opposite  Queen  Street  Station) 

J  "Phone:  2030  CARDIFF  j 

32 


I      Telephone  6438.  Telegrams :  HiUcIimb.      j 

j  C.  K.  Andrews  (Cardiff)  Ltd.  j 

I       CATHEDRAL  ROAD  GARAGE 


I 


i  KovER  Car  Distributors  FOR  Glamorgan  j 

i  AND  Monmouthshire.  j 

} ' i 

/  ^^LES~SERVICE-SATISFACTION 
I  "  '  ~ 

\      Rover  Service  Station  for  above  territory 
i 


"^  "  *  "  ^  '■  ^ii  ■»'■*■■  ^  ■>  ^ ,,  ^,j 


'7 

\ 
\ 
\ 


OWEN    JENKINS 

::::::[_  j::;;:::;:::;:;;;::::;::;:;:::..:.:..j...................„ 


I 

I 
I 
I 

I 

I 

I       I  Chemist 

i 
\ 
} 

I 

I  ::'  Telephone    3384 

I 

f "~     "  "  I  II  -«    11  »  11   ^  111  »  ,j  n_,_ 


372  Cowbfidgc  Road 
CARDIFF 


>~*a  1$  ^•CL 


Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9-50to-7,'54(5990)444 


CARDIFF 


Tel. 


5925-5926 


r%r%  \J\J\J  £.U*t